Harry's Sight of the Dementors
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Due to Harry's being sick with the wizards' flu he fights with invisible Dementors, even instructing his Defence Against the Dark Arts students how to fight them instead of teaching them about Grindylows. AU, partly OOC, sick!Harry


**Harry's Sight of the Dementors**

On a Friday morning, Harry wearily entered the Great Hall, concentrating on putting up the happiest and healthiest expression he could manage in spite of feeling a bit under the weather. He strode to the Head table, where he took the only empty seat between Minerva and Severus. Although he wasn't hungry in the least, he bravely took one of the pancakes and put it onto his plate, noticing that it was shaped like a Dementor that was going to attack him anytime. He could already feel the cold coming from it in spite of the warm Weasley sweater he was wearing under his dark blue robes.

Suddenly, the Hall went absolutely quiet, and Harry glanced around astonished. Seeing that the students were talking and laughing as usual, he forcefully pressed his fingers against his ears that apparently were so clogged up that he couldn't hear anything. Horrified, he noticed that Minerva seemed to be talking to him. He gave her a short nod, hoping that he hadn't just confirmed something incredibly stupid, while he continued to rub his sore ears until a few words entered his foggy mind, "…looks like a ghost… better take over his classes…"

Harry frowned. '_I better head to my classroom before they continue making a fuss_,' he thought and quickly apologized to his colleagues. "Excuse be, I hab classes to teach." Trying to compose himself as much as he could, he returned to his office and had a quick look on his lesson plan for the first lesson, seeing that it was about Grindylows, and thought, '_Strange; it's cold here too. I thought I had left the Dementor in the Great Hall_.' He shivered a little, and suddenly, he couldn't prevent a series of sneezes coming out. "Hatchoo, hatchoo, hatchoo, hatchoo, heesshoo."

Now feeling absolutely horrible, Harry frowned and wearily put a hand to his forehead. '_No, no fever_,' he thought and tried to put up his normal, enthusiastic expression when he slowly walked over to the classroom and let himself fall into his seat. Noticing that his voice started to fade a little, he quickly instructed the students, "I wadt you to read de page about de Debebtors ib your book. Later ob we will practise de Patrobus Charb."

Harry put both elbows onto the table in order to rest his achy head on his hands. When he looked up after an infinite amount of time, he saw that the students had obviously finished reading and were talking to each other quietly. He also noticed that two Dementors were lingering in the two furthest corners of the classroom. '_I have to cast the Patronus Charm to get rid of them and the horrible cold in the room_,' he thought and asked, turning to the students, "Who cab tell be which Charb works agaibst de Demebtors?"

Several students raised their hands, and Harry motioned a girl to answer. "The Patronus Charm, Professor, and the incantation is 'Expecto Patronum'."

"Very good, ten poidts to your House," Harry commended the girl and explained, "You habe to dibk of a happy bebory ib order to cast de Charb. Let be show you." He concentrated on the moment of his triumph over Voldemort a few years ago and put all his energy into the Charm. "Expecto Patrobub."

Fortunately, the Charm worked in spite of his bad pronunciation, and a large stag galloped around the classroom, leaving the students sitting in their seats looking at the white stag in awe. Harry slowly felt the cold recede and being replaced by heat. '_Thank god_,' he thought, '_although this is quite a bit too hot. Maybe one of the Dementors should have remained to cool down the air a bit_.'

"Dow try to produce your owb Patrobub Charb," Harry instructed the students and leaned back into his seat to watch the students' efforts. However, until the end of the class, only one student was able to get a more or less corporal Patronus, all others only produced white mist. "Dob't worry, we will practise dis agaib ubtil you'll badage," he promised and released the students a little early, before he retreated to his office for a much needed break.

Harry sat down at his desk, resting his achy head on the table, feeling absolutely awful. He was just drifting away to sleep when he let out a series of harsh coughs that brought him back to consciousness. '_Ouch_,' he thought. '_What is wrong with me today?_' Starting to shiver, he noticed that the Dementors had obviously returned and let out a huge groan, just as two of them entered his office. Feeling too ill to do anything about them, he laid his head back onto the table and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt one of the Dementors touching his face with an ice-cold hand and couldn't help shivering even more.

"He's burning up," he heard the Dementor say to the other.

"Harry?" the other Dementor called out to him with a voice that sounded very soft and silky.

'_I didn't know they had such nice voices_,' Harry thought, trying to lean into the cold touch.

"All right, can you take him to the hospital wing please? I will take over his classes," the first Dementor stated in a determined voice.

"Doe," Harry contradicted vehemently, coughing harshly. "Cabbot hab a Debebtor teach by class. I'b fibe."

"Harry, open your eyes, sweetie. It's us, Severus and Minerva," he could hear and lazily opened his eyes just a little bit, seeing that indeed his two colleagues were standing next to him, looking down at him concerned.

"All right, Harry, let me put you to bed," Severus told him, offering him a hand.

"Doe," Harry disagreed. "Hab to teach a class, must show dem how to fight de Demebtors before dey cobe back."

"Please take him with you," Minerva whispered to Severus. "He's delirious."

Harry felt himself being scooped up into two strong arms and was carried into his private quarters. He quickly took his robe and his shoes off and scrambled into bed, sighing in relief when his head hit the pillow. However, he soon felt his head being lifted, noticing that Severus had sat down behind him and pulled his head onto his lap. Harry opened his mouth to thank his colleague and friend, but all that came out were two harsh coughs, making his throat and chest hurt even more. Before he could close his mouth, too sore to speak now, he felt an ice-cold thing pushed into his mouth and nearly gagged.

"No Harry, please don't fight it. You seem very hot, so I have to take your temperature," Severus explained in his soft, silky voice and carefully stroked Harry's flushed cheeks.

Harry put a hand to his forehead and slightly shook his head, wincing at the pain the movement caused. "Dot hod, doe feder," he tried to explain around the thermometer, leaning into Severus' robes.

"We will see; just relax and rest for a moment, Harry," Severus told him patiently and gripped Harry's wrist to feel his pulse. After an infinite amount of time had passed, Harry finally felt that Severus took the annoying thermometer out of his mouth and just started to relax when his colleague let out a huge gasp. "Forty point five," Severus stated. "That is a very high fever. I'm sorry, Harry, but I have to call Poppy."

"Doe," Harry shouted horrified, noticing that his voice was failing completely. "You cabbot call her because ob de Debebtors," he whispered instead.

"Yes, I know, Harry, but I must call her," Severus insisted, carefully pushing Harry off his lap.

"A bad case of the wizard's flu," Poppy diagnosed five minutes later. "Which means…" she continued with a glare in Harry's direction, "… absolute bed rest for a few days until I tell you otherwise. Therefore, I'm going to take you with me."

"Doe!" Harry cry-whispered with a pained expression, and before he could say anything about Dementors, Severus promised to stay with Harry and look after him during the weekend.

"Your classes will be cancelled for a week," Poppy added as an after-thought. Before Harry could protest, she made him drink two potions, gave Severus a potion that would prevent him from catching the flu from Harry, and promised to return in the evening to check on Harry before she left the room.

"Now, try to sleep for a while, Harry," Severus instructed his younger colleague and settled down on the edge of his bed.

Harry obediently closed his eyes, and just when Severus thought that he had finally fallen asleep, Harry sat up and looked around with an expression of pure panic on his face. "De Debebtors, hab you seeb deb?" he croaked painfully.

Severus calmingly put his hand on Harry's hot hand. "No, Harry, there aren't any Dementors. You only think they are here because your fever is so high. It's all right. Lie down and sleep for a while."

"Cab you stay wid be? I'b so cold," Harry whined hoarsely, shifting a little in the bed.

Severus sighed. He quickly conjured a bowl with ice-cold water and a cloth, which he wetted and carefully put on Harry's burning forehead, making the man shiver even more. Soon after Harry fell asleep, Severus drifted off to sleep as well, leaning his head against the head of the bed.

None of them noticed Minerva entering the room an hour later, smiling at the sight of the two young teachers peacefully asleep next to each other. '_How peaceful they are like this, in spite of their fighting all the time when they are both healthy_,' she chuckled while she refreshed the cloth on Harry's forehead.

A while later Harry woke up by his own harsh coughs. Before he lay back again, he looked around wearily and thought in relief, '_No Dementors here anymore_.'

**The End**

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I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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